Obviously God deserved more credit for the church in Corinth than either its planter or its nurturer. Next to Him the others were nothing. Human laborers are all equal in that they are human laborers with human limitations. Nevertheless the Lord will reward each one at the judgment seat of Christ because of his or her work. Note that it is our labor that will be the basis of our reward, not the fruit of our labor. read more
The Fault of Party SpiritThe immaturity of the Corinthian converts and their unfitness for anything but elementary instruction in the faith is proved by their mutual jealousies and their disagreements about their teachers.1-9. Paraphrase. ’Te yourselves, brethren, are an illustration of what I say. (2) I have treated you as beginners and given you elementary Christian teaching, for hitherto you have been unfit for any other. (3, 4) You are still but immature Christians, as the strife and... read more
(6) I have planted, Apollos watered.—By an image borrowed from the processes of agriculture the Apostle explains the relation in which his teaching stood to that of Apollos—and how all the results were from God. This indication of St. Paul having been the founder, and Apollos the subsequent instructor, of the Corinthian Church, is in complete harmony with what we read of the early history of that Church in Acts 18:27; Acts 19:1. After St. Paul had been at Corinth (Acts 18:1), Apollos, who had... read more
1 Corinthians 3:1-2 A man always is to be himself the judge how much of his mind he will show to other men; even to those he would have work along with him. Carlyle, Heroes, VI 1 Corinthians 3:2 It is a fact, forced upon one by the whole experience of life, that almost all men are children, more or less, in their tastes and admirations. De Quincey, Autobiographic Sketches , XIII. References. III. 1-8. J. Bowstead, Practical Sermons, vol. i. p. 281. III. 2. G. W. Brameld, Practical Sermons,... read more
Chapter 6GOD’S HUSBANDRY AND BUILDINGPAUL having abundantly justified his method of preaching to the Corinthians, and having shown why he contented himself with the simple presentation of the Cross, resumes his direct rebuke of their party spirit. He has told them that they were as yet unfit to bear the "wisdom" which he taught in some Churches, and the very proof of their immaturity is to be found in their partisanship. "While one saith, I am of Paul, and another, I am of Apollos, are ye not... read more
CHAPTER 3 1. The Carnal state of the Corinthians. (1 Corinthians 3:1-9 ). 2. The Workmen and their Work. (1 Corinthians 3:10-15 ). 3. The Church the Temple of God. (1 Corinthians 3:16-17 ). 4. Warning against Deception and Glorying in Men. (1 Corinthians 3:18-23 ). Their condition is next uncovered. They did not depend on the Spirit of God and did not enjoy the hidden wisdom and walk in it. They were carnal, mere babes in Christ, in the sense that their growth, their spiritual development... read more
3:6 {3} I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.(3) He beautifies the former sentence, with two similarities: first comparing the company of the faithful to a field which God makes fruitful, when it is sown and watered through the labour of his servants. Second, be comparing it to a house, which indeed the Lord builds, but by the hands of his workmen, some of whom he uses in laying the foundation, others in building it up. Now, both these similarities are for this purpose, to... read more
But in practical experience the Corinthians were not properly regarding, nor depending on, the wisdom of the Spirit of God, who had been given to them. Paul could not write to them as spiritual, but as unto "carnal," or "fleshly," or as unto "babes in Christ." Actually they were not babes, but were as babes, a matter of shame, for this was not normal. When they ought to have been able to digest solid food, Paul had found it necessary still to feed them with milk, the most elementary truths of... read more
THE CAUSE AND CURE OF DISPUTES This epistle was written by Paul probably during the latter part of his long visit to Ephesus, and it will add interest to its study to re-read Acts 18-20, which speak of his visit to both cities, Ephesus and Corinth. The occasion for its writing, as given in 1 Corinthians 1:11 ; 1 Corinthians 7:1 , was a visit to Paul of a member “of the house of Chloe,” who brought a written communication to him as well as verbal reports of conditions in the church. These... read more
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Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - 1 Corinthians 3:5-17
5. The role of God’s servants 3:5-17Paul turned next to a positive explanation of how his readers should view him and his fellow workers."At issue is their radically misguided perception of the nature of the church and its leadership, in this case especially the role of the teachers." [Note: Fee, The First . . ., p. 128.] "In the first place, they have not understood the nature and character of the Christian message, the true wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:18 to 1 Corinthians 3:4). In the second... read more